View full sizePlain Dealer fileThe city of Cleveland is trying to force the owner of the Stanley Block building on Ontario Street to tear down or fix up the property, and a judge backed that effort Friday. The building, one of downtown's oldest, is wrapped by a new casino garage and welcome center.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The company that owns the Stanley Block building in downtown Cleveland must address safety problems next week and either demolish or diligently repair the property, according to a decision issued Friday by the Cleveland Housing Court.

In a 10-page ruling, Judge Raymond Pianka ordered Macron Investment Co., which owns the dilapidated, historic building, to quickly address potential safety issues. If the company decides to demolish the structure, which sits in the middle of a welcome center and garage for Cleveland's new casino, Macron must apply for a demolition permit by May 13th and start work soon after.

But the company still can restore the building. And Macron's current building permit, for repair work at the property, doesn't expire until March 2013.

With the opening of the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland approaching in mid-May, Macron remains a company divided. Members of the Maloof and Anter families, longtime shareholders in Macron, control half of the company. Casino developer Rock Ohio Caesars LLC owns the other half, after buying into the company early last year.

The Stanley Block, at 2121 Ontario St., is Macron's only asset. The Maloof and Anter family members claim they want to restore the building, one of downtown's oldest. But Macron says itdoesn't have the money and can't get a loan because of ownership disputes. In court filings and appearances, representatives for the casino group have pushed to raze it. The shareholders are deadlocked, a situation that might, eventually, lead to dissolution of the company and the sale of the property.

The city filed its lawsuit in March, asking the court to hold Macron - and its shareholders - responsible for fixing or tearing down the Stanley Block, which has been condemned for two years. After fruitless settlement talks between the city and the shareholders, the court held a trial on April 5 and 6.

On Friday, Pianka ruled in favor of the city - to a point. Macron is responsible for razing or "diligently" repairing the building, he wrote. But the shareholders are not.

The city has the ability, but not the cash, to step in and demolish the building. Macron, also cash-strapped, has the responsibility, the judge wrote.

"But," Pianka wrote, "the public cannot generally demand that shareholders in a corporation provide needed capital to the corporation. A wealth(y) casino developer, having bought shares of stock in a corporation that owns a derelict building, has the right to hold those shares without offering any funds to the corporation to make the needed repairs.

"In many instances," he added, "an investor who buys a controlling interest in a corporation does so with the intent of helping that corporation succeed. But in other instances, an investor may deliberately seek a controlling interest in a corporation in order to dissolve it, gambling that the sale of the company's assets will pay more than the cost of buying up its stock."

An attorney for Macron could not be reached Friday. A spokeswoman for Rock Ohio Caesars declined to comment. Contractor Steve Coon, hired by the Maloof and Anter shareholders to make repairs at the property, did not return a phone call.

In an email Friday, Cleveland's interim law director said the city is pleased that the Housing Court backed the city's case against Macron. But the city is disappointed that the court did not extend its order to the individual shareholders.

"The City remains concerned about the lengthy time-frame given to the owner to rehabilitate the building," Barbara Langhenry, the interim law director, wrote. "If the corporate owner chooses not to demolish the building and continues to delay stabilization, the building will further deteriorate and is a potential safety risk."

In his ruling, Pianka said Macron must hire an asbestos expert and have workers inspect the front of the building, to make sure it is safe, before May 6. Macron must submit reports to the court on both efforts by May 13.